The open radio access network market is “rapidly expanding” and expected to near $41 billion in global revenue by 2026, reported ABI Research Thursday. The ORAN opportunity “invites various stakeholders to bring their best in class technologies and hardware/software components to contribute to building a flexible, secure, agile, and multi-vendor interoperable network solution,” said ABI. Trade wars and the COVID-19 pandemic brought “tremendous restrictions” to the telecom supply chain and disrupted the “evolution of new technologies,” it said. These conditions will “accelerate” ORAN’s development and deployment, it said.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology approved a waiver for Metrom Rail, allowing the certification and operation of ultra-wideband devices used to enhance the safety and reliability of transit rail operations. Metrom is a technology company that serves railroads. “Specifically, we are waiving the requirement that devices must be handheld while operating and are allowing Metrom’s directional antenna system to employ an additional 6 dB of gain to produce an [effective isotropic radiated power] of up to -35.3 dBm/MHz,” OET said in a Friday order in docket 18-284. Metrom’s operations are limited to 3.248-4.990 GHz, OET said. The waiver request was before the FCC for more than two years (see 1809200041).

T-Mobile said Thursday it's stepping in to provide wireless broadband in communities where AT&T is phasing out DSL. “What AT&T takes away, T-Mobile brings back,” T-Mobile said: “Following news that AT&T is discontinuing DSL home broadband in many communities, T-Mobile is massively expanding its Home Internet pilot service to give another option to an additional 20 million households in parts of 450 cities and towns.” Current DSL customers will keep that service, an AT&T spokesperson responded. “We continue to make substantial investments in wireless capabilities and fiber to reach more customers with faster speeds,” the spokesperson emailed: “That’s why as of Oct. 1, we’re not accepting new orders for DSL service 6 Mbps and slower.”

An FCC order eliminating the nonfederal radiolocation service and nonfederal amateur allocation in the 3.3-3.5 GHz band, while allowing incumbent licensees to continue operating in 3.45-3.55 GHz until a future date, is effective Nov. 9, says Friday's Federal Register. The order was approved 5-0 last week (see 2009300034).

Lifeline providers will have to send notices to users warning of a looming price increase and co-pay if there's “continuing uncertainty” about whether there will be an increase in the minimum service standard for mobile broadband, said the National Lifeline Association in docket 17-287 Thursday (see 2009150072). The notifications have to go out soon because under current rules the MSS will automatically increase from 3 GB to 11.75 GB Dec. 1, NaLA said. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated an order that would instead raise it to 4.5 GB.

Retailer Klein Electronics, a maker of handheld two-way radios and other devices, agreed to pay $20,000 and implement a compliance plan for not following RF labeling rules, said the FCC Enforcement Bureau Wednesday. The rules “help 'ensure”' the devices are operated in a manner that minimizes potential interference to authorized communications,” the bureau said. It investigated after getting a complaint that Klein's devices “did not appear to have an FCC equipment authorization,” the order said. The company didn't comment.

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council and the National Regional Planning Council released a revised 700 MHz nationwide deployable trunked solutions report, updating a 2015 document. “The 2020 revisions to the report address solutions to a technical problem that arose with a specific subset of deployable operations, in which out-of-area radios roamed onto a deployable system,” the groups said Wednesday: “The roaming units were unable to use talk-groups in common with the local deployable radios, potentially hampering mutual aid responses at large incidents.”

RKF Engineering's statistical Monte Carlo analysis demonstrates very-low-power unlicensed devices at 14 dBm “will not create harmful interference to licensed services” in the 6 GHz band, tech companies told the FCC. “RKF’s study contained sensitivity analysis across multiple factors, including the number of active VLP devices,” said Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Microsoft, NXP Semiconductors and Qualcomm, in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295. Commissioners are expected to consider rules in November (see 2008200040), responding to an April Further NPRM (see 2004230059).

The FCC has given “ample” time for Clark County, Nevada, to reach agreement with Verizon on small-cells rates, the carrier said in a letter posted Wednesday in docket 19-230. It urged the commission to act on Verizon’s petition for declaratory ruling. Clark County said last month FCC action would signal to communities that cooperative efforts with industry aren’t worth the effort (see 2009250027). Verizon disagreed. An FCC ruling to clarify how to apply 2018’s small-cells order “may help the parties reach a final resolution consistent with the Order, as well as facilitate future solutions involving other parties and other municipalities,” it said.

The 5.9 GHz band should be reallocated for vehicle-to-everything communications, with no allocation for Wi-Fi, argued a Panasonic white paper filed at the FCC. The commission is expected to consider the band in November (see 2009090058). “Reallocating 45 megahertz of 5.9 GHz spectrum for unlicensed use" would require forgoing "the significant safety benefits associated with next-generation V2X applications,” said the paper, written by Wiley. “Sensor sharing messaging (aka cooperative perception messaging) would require at least an additional 20 megahertz,” it said: “Likewise, maneuver coordination messaging would require at least an additional 20 megahertz, and truck platooning 10 megahertz more. It is mathematically impossible to support these life-saving V2X applications, in addition to the Basic Safety Message, in only 30 megahertz of spectrum.” The paper was posted Wednesday in docket 19-138.